The instant invention relates to garments with indicia thereon. More particularly, the instant invention relates to garments having indicia thereon wherein the garments are primarily novelty items.
Garments are frequently used to display indicia in order to convey messages such as advertisements for products and services, cultural and political slogans and just about any message that a person may be interested in displaying. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,685,690 and 2,527,258 each disclose garments with detachable panels wherein the panels have advertising information thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,110 discloses a shirt with a panel having an erasable writing surface, while U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,053 discloses a shirt which actually dispenses various items pictorially illustrated on the garment. Athletic jerseys with flaps for changing indicia are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,.277,848 and 4,296,498.
Lately, an enormous market has developed for sweatshirts and T-shirts which display slogans and other indicia which the wearer hopefully believes will attract attention or admiration. While the sales of such garments have soared, the structure of the garments has remained substantially the same. These garments are essentially novelty items, but their novelty is limited to the message which is at all times visible on the garment.